ANTONY         I will be treble-sinewed, hearted, breathed,

And fight maliciously; for when mine hours

Were nice and lucky, men did ransom lives

Of me for jests; but now I’ll set my teeth,

And send to darkness all that stop me. Come,

Let’s have one other gaudy night. Call to me

All my sad captains. Fill our bowls once more.

Let’s mock the midnight bell.           (3.13.179-186)

I will be treble-sinewed, hearted, breathed—I’ll be three times as strong, fight with three times the heart, three times the wind—and I’ll fight maliciously, fiercely, but with the implication of: no more Mr Nice Guy. I’ll do anything it takes to win; I’ll fight dirty. For when mine hours were nice and lucky, when everything was going my way, when I was spending my time in dalliance and diversion and fortune smiled on me, men did ransom lives of me for jests: I’d let men go, show them mercy in a fight just for telling me a good joke, decent banter, making me laugh. I didn’t need to kill to be on top of the world; I’d let people get away with all kinds of things. But now I’ll set my teeth—grrrrr, snarl—I’ll take no prisoners; I’ll send to darkness all that stop me. No more banter, no more chat; anyone who stands in my way is dead. But—come, let’s have one other gaudy night; we can still be nice and lucky together a little longer, the two of us. Gaudy is such a resonant word: it means celebratory, full of rejoicing, but even more, it connotes luxury and excess; it sounds like gauzy, hazy, dreamlike; it sounds like glory. We too, one other gaudy night; just one more. So call to me all my sad captains, my officers who are sad in defeat but also serious and sombre. Let’s cheer them up too. Fill our bowls once more. Drink, and plenty of it. It’s a moment full of nostalgia and memory, as well as prospective pleasure: the full bowls, the flowing cups, will allow for the pledging of oaths, the remembering of absent friends and other times. Let’s mock the midnight bell, stay up late, yes, ignore the curfew, forget that soldiers must rise early. We’ll defy time, and age, and circumstance. One other gaudy night.